Monthly Archives: September 2016

Mass transportation is most probable path for future pandemics. The need for better hygiene is needed. A few studies below support this and are worth taking the time to have a look at.

A measles infection at Kansai International Airport in Japan has recently created concern. Thirty-two employees were found to be infected with measles, creating risk for other employees and travelers alike, who if infected could carry the disease to faraway places. It’s important to recognize the outbreak of illness to keep it from spreading.

Bacterial contamination on touch surfaces in the public transport system and in public areas of a hospital in London aimed to investigate bacterial contamination on hand-touch surfaces in the public transport system and in public areas of a hospital in central London. The researchers concluded hand-touch sites in London are frequently contaminated with bacteria and can harbor MSSA, but none of the sites tested were contaminated with MRSA. The significance and impact noted is “hand-touch sites can become contaminated with staphylococci and may be fomites for the transmission of bacteria between humans. Such sites could provide a reservoir for community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) in high prevalence areas but were not present in London, a geographical area with a low incidence of CA-MRSA.”

Norovirus is a seriously contagious virus that can infect anyone, according to Centers for Disease Control. You can get it from an infected person, contaminated food or water, or by touching contaminated surfaces. Additionally, ample research says it can be transmitted through the air. The virus causes your stomach or intestines or both to get inflamed. This leads you to have stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea and to throw up. These symptoms can be serious for some people, especially young children and older adults, the most vulnerable among us.

Norovirus can have significant economic impact, too. Global Economic Burden of Norovirus Gastroenteritis is a study at PLOS One that “developed a computational simulation model to estimate the economic burden of Norovirus in every country/area (233 total) stratified by World Health Organization region and globally, from the health system and societal perspectives. We considered direct costs of illness (e.g., clinic visits and hospitalization) and productivity losses.” It says that globally, Norovirus resulted in a total of $4.2 billion (95% UI: $3.2–5.7 billion) in direct health system costs and $60.3 billion (95% UI: $44.4–83.4 billion) in societal costs per year. In part it concludes that “the total economic burden is greatest in young children but the highest cost per illness is among older age groups in some regions. These large costs overwhelmingly are from productivity losses resulting from acute illness. . . . Our findings can help identify which age group(s) and/or geographic regions may benefit the most from interventions.”

Mass gatherings always are a potential health threat. It’s important that travelers are vaccinated and in the best health possible. This applies to those who attend any events where crowds are present.

Adding a psychological dimension to mass gatherings medicine notes the differences between day-to-day behavior and behavior that surfaces in mass gatherings that affects general health. “Mass gatherings pose distinctive challenges for medicine. One neglected aspect of this is that the behavior of people participating in such events is different from the behavior they exhibit in their everyday lives. This paper seeks to describe a social psychological perspective on the processes shaping people’s behavior at mass gatherings and to explore how these are relevant for an understanding of the processes impacting on the transmission of infection. . . . First, one behaves in terms of one’s understanding of the norms associated with the group. Second, the relationships between group members become more trusting and supportive. Understanding these two behavioral changes is key to understanding how and why mass gathering participants may behave in ways that make them more or less vulnerable to infection transmission. Implications for health education interventions are discussed.”

Half of pilgrims unaware of MERS, at Arab News, reports on a 33-country study about “Pilgrim Awareness of Corona (MERS) Virus,” conducted during the last Haj season. It revealed that about half of the pilgrims were unaware of the virus and prevention methods. . . . The study confirmed the lack of accurate information about the disease among pilgrims, and general lack of awareness, noting the need for effective awareness programs and improved teaching methods about health issues during the Haj season. MERS is a source of concern for the World Health Organization, with the majority of cases emerging from Arab Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia. This indicates the serious risk of the virus spreading during the pilgrimage. . . The aim of the Saudi study was to assess the awareness of pilgrims of the corona virus, and their responses toward protective standards in dealing with it. The study confirmed that knowledge and awareness is essential and will certainly contribute to the development and improvement of health awareness programs for pilgrims in the future.

Zoonotic diseases account for almost 60 percent of all disease among humans. Developing a multi-disciplinary look at disease in humans and animal gives us early warning on pending issues. MERS, SARS and PEDv are all corona viruses hence they model is very similar ways. In the links below, note the studies that clearly show PEDv and SARS are airborne dangers.

A Unified Framework for the Infection Dynamics of Zoonotic Spillover and Spread says that “disentangling the contribution of animal-to-human from human-to-human transmission is of crucial importance to inform appropriate control measures. The shape of the cumulative number of occurrences can provide indications of the modes of transmission. A concave, saturating profile is an expected outcome due to depletion of susceptibles. In contrast, a convex region in the profile of cumulative number of occurrences suggests that human-to-human transmission plays an important role. Alternative explanations are possible. A convex shape in the cumulative number of occurrences might arise from temporal variations in the model parameters (e.g. probability of contact between humans and rodents, infection prevalence in rodents, infection-response efficiency) and/or in the human population size. A fundamental gap in our current knowledge is the mechanisms governing the transition from spillover to stuttering chain to sustained transmission.”

Database of host-pathogen and related species interactions, and their global distribution discusses “interactions between species, particularly where one is likely to be a pathogen of the other, as well as the geographical distribution of species, have been systematically extracted from various web-based, free-access sources, and assembled with the accompanying evidence into a single database. The database attempts to answer questions such as what are all the pathogens of a host, and what are all the hosts of a pathogen, what are all the countries where a pathogen was found, and what are all the pathogens found in a country. Two datasets were extracted from the database, focussing on species interactions and species distribution, based on evidence published between 1950–2012. The quality of their evidence was checked and verified against well-known, alternative, datasets of pathogens infecting humans, domestic animals and wild mammals. The presented datasets provide a valuable resource for researchers of infectious diseases of humans and animals, including zoonoses.”

· Air exchange owing to temperature difference played a significant role in SARS transmission during the nosocomial outbreak in Ward 8A.

· The validated multi-zone model combining the two-way airflow effect may be a better simulation approach than CFD owing to its convenience and accuracy for actual application

· Reducing the area of the openings between cubicles and corridor (e.g. installing curtains at the openings) may be a more convenient and economical improvement on general ward design.”

At National Geographic Channel, The Big Picture with Kal Penn, talks of the 2003 SARS outbreak in China that quickly became a global epidemic. It attempts to get to the origins of the outbreak to understand how virus spreads.

The Detroit News published a report recently that brought to light shocking hygiene shortcomings at Detroit Medical Center (DMC). The News reported – and the findings weren’t contradicted by DMC administrators, who acknowledge there are problems to fix – that among other things surgeries were cancelled because of unsterile instruments. Time will tell what the hospital does to fix its issues. For the time being, you have to believe patient confidence is seriously shaken. That DMC acknowledges the system needs to be fixed is at least encouraging. What they do, and how quickly, will be something to watch.

Dirty, missing instruments plague DMC surgeries appears in the Detroit News. It says that “more than 200 pages of internal emails and reports indicating that surgeons and staffers have complained for at least 11 years about improperly cleaned, broken and missing instruments. The complaints have continued under the tenure of the for-profit Tenet Healthcare of Dallas, Texas, which acquired the DMC in 2013, the documents show. The records show improperly sterilized tools complicated operations from appendectomies and brain surgeries to cleft palate repair and spinal fusions. Patients were kept under anesthesia for up to an hour as staffers replaced instruments. Dozens of operations were canceled at the last minute, some after anesthesia was administered.” The paper also notes in Hospital records kept from public that the internal reports and emails aren’t made public and were “cloaked in secrecy by Michigan law. State and federal agencies collect a substantial amount of data, but allow hospitals to supply it voluntarily on the condition that much of it is kept confidential. That means only the broadest information — typically about regional rates or whether hospitals are above or below averages — is available to the public.”

The Centers for Disease Control published a bombshell report in 2013, strongly warning against the negative ramifications of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). And in 2014, the World Health Organization labeled antibiotic resistance as a “major threat to public health.” Antibiotic resistance is a direct result of antibiotic use. The more antibiotics are used, the greater the odds that antibiotic-resistant populations of bacteria will increase. It is imperative the fight across multiple disciplines continues because since these reports, it doesn’t appear the situation is improving significantly. Consider some of the following reports.

Below are three YouTube pieces that discuss various aspects of AMR and are well worth the time to watch:

CDC now admits era of antibiotics at an end as bacteria out-wit drug companies is one that should really make folks stand up and take notice. If you don’t think you should be concerned because there always will be new drugs to combat AMR, you’re probably wrong. “In a breakthrough moment of truth for the CDC, the agency now openly admits that prescription antibiotics have led to a catastrophic rise in superbugs, causing the death of at least 23,000 Americans each year (an estimate even the CDC calls “conservative”).” Staggering numbers, indeed.

Maryn McKenna: What do we do when antibiotics don’t work anymore? “Penicillin changed everything. Infections that had previously killed were suddenly quickly curable. Yet as Maryn McKenna shares in this sobering talk, we’ve squandered the advantages afforded us by that and later antibiotics. Drug-resistant bacteria mean we’re entering a post-antibiotic world — and it won’t be pretty. There are, however, things we can do … if we start right now.”

Hand hygiene clearly impacts the wellness of any community. Keeping hands clean at home, in schools and elsewhere makes a significant difference in keeping folks healthy. The impact of poor hand hygiene habits is linked to increased occurrences of illness, absences, and their associated costs. A renewed commitment to “shared responsibility” in our homes and classrooms may be one of our most important infection prevention strategies.

Hand Hygiene at Home and School, written by Patrick Boshell at Infection Control Tips, says “studies demonstrate that poor hand hygiene practices can contribute to an increase in community-based infections including gastrointestinal, skin and respiratory infections. Additionally, there has been a steady increase in the global burden of infectious diseases, resulting in an reported 13 million deaths annually. Between 1980 and 1992, deaths attributed to infectious disease increased by 22%, according to reports. This is a cause for concern as we continue to see a decline in hand hygiene promotion and education.”

Hand Sanitizer Alert draws attention to the fact that “efficacy experiments reported here reinforce what has been known for more than 50 years: 40% ethanol is a less effective bacterial antiseptic than 60% ethanol. Consumers should be alerted to check the alcohol concentration in hand sanitizers because substandard products may be marketed to the public.”

New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1) is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of beta-lactam antibiotics. These include the antibiotics of the carbapenem family, which are a mainstay for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection, among those Acinetobacter and more specifically Acinetobacter baumannii. Here are some links to studies that include a look at the relationship of NDM-1 and A. baumannii.

Multidrug Resistant Acinetobacter reports that “there is an urgent need to enforce infection control measures and antimicrobial stewardship programs to prevent the further spread of these resistant Acinetobacter species and to delay the emergence of increased resistance in the bacteria.”

Maria Schiff, in a piece that appears at Health Affairs blog, notes that an aging prison population – state and federal prisoners more than 55 years old – has grown from 43,300 to 144,500 from 1999-2013. With that rising number comes with a corresponding increase in health care costs. In Examining State Prison Health Care Spending: Cost Drivers And Policy Approaches, Schiff reports that the National Institute of Corrections said the cost of keeping prisoners 55 and older costs two to three times as much for all other inmates. Not among the cost containment strategies is prevention, which should be looked at along with other methods.

Treating Prisoners With Hepatitis C May Be Worth The Hefty Price, a Health News piece at NPR, says “more than 15 percent of U.S. prison inmates are infected with Hepatitis C. The study, published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that as many as 12,000 lives would be saved if inmates were screened and treated. And while it would cost a lot of money up front, over time the savings to society at large would be huge. . . . Treating just those in prison would save $750 million over 30 years, the study finds, even including the cost of screening and medication.”

Legionnaires’ disease case at San Quentin prison prompts shutoff of water, which appears at the Los Angeles Times, says “California public health records show 348 reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014, two-thirds of them affecting individuals 65 or older. More than half of the cases occurred in Los Angeles County. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that fewer than half the cases of legionellosis, the proper medical term for the disease, are reported. From 2009 to 2012, California reported 82 deaths attributed to the bacteria, according to the state Department of Public Health.”

Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a known killer that has drawn plenty of attention from the Centers for Disease Control. C. diff is on the CDC shortlist of microorganisms with a threat level of “urgent.” It no longer is isolated in hospitals, moving to the community at large. Additionally, it can be spread through the air. These are a few of the factors that make it important to continue to study and analyze it as well as develop methods to combat its spread.

Airborne Spread of Clostridium difficile, at UPCM Center for Health Security, points out that a recent paper authored by British researchers, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, demonstrates that C. diff spores may also be spread through the air. It’s already been known that patients in hospitals infected with C. diff can shed large numbers of spores, which leads to them being found of myriad surfaces and thus leading to the spread of the disease. Additionally, healthcare workers can help move them outside of rooms as fomites on clothing and equipment.

Epidemiology of community-associated Clostridium difficile infection, 2009 through 2011 sets out to determine epidemiological and clinical characteristics of community-associated C. diff infection and to explore potential sources of C difficile acquisition in the community. It concludes in part that “most patients with community-associated CDI had recent outpatient health care exposure, and up to 36% would not be prevented by reduction of antibiotic use only. Our data support evaluation of additional strategies, including further examination of C difficile transmission in outpatient and household settings and reduction of proton pump inhibitor use.”

Study Shows Healthcare Workers’ Hands Contaminated with C. difficile After Routine Care notes that “many healthcare workers may be passing on this highly contagious bacteria to patients even after routine alcohol-based hand rubbing. This points to the need for routine hand washing with soap and water, rather than alcohol-based hand rub, after care of C. difficile patients in all settings.” Alcohol-based hand sanitizers aren’t enough when it comes to C. diff spores.

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The Nano Safe blog is about to change. Nano Safe, Inc., is very focused on antimicrobial coating for medical devices. In the near future we are going to turn this blog over to a sister company and they will continue to write on infection control issues for the built environment. Stay tuned for more news on the blog shift.